Rhyme is Money: Let’s make a deal

On January 1st, 2010, I made a new year’s resolution to post a new rhyme to youtube every day for the entire year. So far, I’ve been keeping that resolution, and a group of dedicated individuals have been cheering me on. In fact, a lot of people have asking if I would consider making a CD of all of the rhymes I’ve done so far.

Hey, that’s a good idea. But the thing is, compiling and recording a mixtape takes time and energy away from my other duties, like fundraising for Flobots.org, our non-profit organization. I love creating music, but it’s also really important to me to make sure our dedicated staff and volunteers have what they need to keep doing their work in the community. If only there were a way to do both? Hmmm.

Aha! Here’s an idea. What if I ask you to “sponsor” me to make music by donating to Flobots.org? You take the money you would have been willing to spend on a CD and use it to support music mentorship, civic engagement, and our community space. I spend the time and energy I would have used on fundraising and put it into making you a free digital mixtape with all of January’s rhymes. Seems to me like a win-win!

And, if the idea worked out, we could do it again for February!

THE DEAL:

So, here’s the deal. If you will help me raise $1,000 dollars in donations for Flobots.org, I will create a downloadable mixtape of all of January’s rhymes.

Fundraising Goal: $1,000.00

Target Date: March 8th

The Math: There are currently 350 people subscribed to the Rhyme of the Day. If just 100 of you donated ten bucks, that would do the trick. Or if 200 of you donated 5 dollars, that’d do it too. Or 50 of you could give 5 dollars and get 3 friends to do the same. And, of course, if you can recruit 650 more subscribers, everyone would just need to give a dollar.

There’s lots of ways to get to a thousand. I’ll leave that to you guys. I’ll focus on putting together all of January’s rhymes into a mixtape you can really enjoy.

Here’s how to donate:

Use this Paypal Checkout to Donate with your Paypal or Credit Card:

To donate by phone, text the word “tools” to 90999. All text donations will be counted toward the rhyme of the day.

Click here to find out more about Flobots.org

It’s a big week for The Flobots. The Denver band has been selected as one of four recipients of the 2010 Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, an honor bestowed by Mayor John Hickenlooper and the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs. Flobots share this honor with fellow recipients El Centro Su Teatro, Access Gallery and Jeffrey Nickelson, the late founder of Shadow Theater Company.

Flobots were selected on the strength of their artistic and commercial successes, including winning over audiences around the world with a bombastic and inspiring live show. Their major-label debut, Fight with Tools, sold more than 300,000 copies, and the hit song “Handlebars” was one of the biggest songs of 2008. The Mayor’s award also recognizes Flobots’ social activism and civic engagement, values that they promote from the stage and practice through their non-profit organization Flobots.org.

In a ceremony on February 17, Flobots will perform a track from their upcoming record Survival Story, which is due on Universal Records in mid-March. The album’s first single, “White Flag Warriors,” is now in rotation on radio stations around the country. The song features vocals by Tim Mcllrath of Rise Against. Long-time Flobots friend and collaborator Matt Morris also appears on the record.

ABOUT FLOBOTS.ORG

In 2008, Flobots took its activism to a new level by forming a non-profit organization. Flobots.org uses music as a tool for creating positive change and civic engagement among young people.

Major programs:

n Live from DCH! Music Therapy Program at Denver Children’s Home

n Art to Activism Outreach Program, bringing music and leadership into the classroom

n After-school music and leadership program at Denver Venture School

n Fight With Tools Street Team and Web Site, building communities of socially engaged music fans

n Flobots.org Community Space, home to programs and performances for youth and community

Flobots supported the Somaly Mam Foundation’s second annual Evening of Hopes and Dreams at a private residence in Beverly Hills on September 29th. The band attended the gala and performed at the official after-party hosted by “Fame” star Walter Perez. The evening raised money and awareness to combat human trafficking and modern day slavery. For information about the Somaly Mam Foundation visit www.somaly.org.

Saturday, October 10:
The Draft 3.0: a reading show, presented by Lighthouse Writers Workshop
6:25 pm -8:15 pm
Join four current Lighthouse members, writers of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, who tackle the extremes in this reading: “Fire & Ice.” Enjoy cocktails in the festive back patio of the Meadowlark (weather permitting), and then sit back, relax, and enjoy readings of short literary stylings by Laura Bond (fiction), Jon Hammer (nonfiction), Joey Chase (nonfiction), and a poet yet to be wrassled.

Saturday, October 17:
Larimer Sidewalk Arts Festival
9 am – 4 pm
An open-air celebration of arts created by young people. Any artist between the ages of 12-21 is welcome to show and sell their work. All proceeds benefit each individual artist. There is no fee for participating. Join us for a day of music, food, community and art!
To register an artist, please email meadowlarkart@gmail.com.

Tuesday, October 27:
New Series: Denver Minor Disturbance Poetry Slam
6 pm- 9pm
Hosted by Ken Arkind, a member of Denver’s historic Slam Nuba Team, The Denver Minor Disturbance Poetry Slam is a new bi-weekly poetry workshop open to young poets, new poets, old poets, in-between poets and anyone who wants to throw down some words and feelings in a safe, supportive and fiercely creative environment. We will welcome a revolving roster of hosts and workshop leaders, including members of Denver’s thriving poetry and literary scene as well as national artists.
Contact: Sarah Soriano
Tel. (831) 392-6466
Email: sarah@sarahlayne.com

ARTIST BUILDS SOUND ACTIVATED GOWN
Garments Reflect Interaction During A 56 Day Performance

(Denver, Colo.) September 15, 2009 – Flobots.org Community Space will host, 56 Days: I’m Still Here, by internationally exhibited artist Sarah Soriano. This exhibition catalogs 56 days of performance, throughout which Soriano examined the struggle to resist or accept gender roles within the confines of her relationship.

The exhibition reveals intimate portraits of Soriano wearing a sound reactive nightgown. The gown, which will be active on display, reacts to high voice levels by warping the dress.

Visitors are welcome to yell at the displayed gown to see its transformation.

“I created the sound reactive gown in order to make visible what someone might feel when arguing with their significant other,” says Soriano. “It represents a vulnerable moment when one is on the receiving end.”

An additional series of seven large-scale digital photographs show Soriano posed expressionless in a woman’s business suit. The portraits show Soriano transforming from a professional woman into a woman struggling to maintain composure as the suit slowly engulfs her over 56 days.

“The suit is similar to the gown in that it accentuates how I internalized every emotion after an interaction with my spouse. Every layer of the suit is a metaphor of how I felt our relationship was doing that day. I continued this for 56 days. The suit quickly became heavy and constrictive as I added more layers.”

Sarah Soriano is a candidate for a Master of Fine Art Degree in Electronic Media Arts Design at the University of Denver. Her work has been exhibited in São Paulo, Brazil, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Denver, Colorado.

56 Days: I’m Still Here will be on display October 2 -16 at Flobots.org Community Space at 2705 Larimer Street in Denver. An opening reception will be held Friday, October 2 from 6 pm – 9 pm. The exhibition will be open Friday and Saturday, 2 pm – 6 pm or by appointment. Admission is Free. Visit www.sarahsoriano.com for information.

“The Flobots first annual charity event — The Bowling Ball — was not only a wildly successful event-raising thousands for the Flobots’ own charity which uses music to help schoolkids, but one of the best times we’ve had in a good long while. It was really wild seeing all the bands (Flobots, The Fray, Flogging Molly, Meese, and Single File among others) record store people (Us, Independent (who can’t handle their liquor) and uh… Best Buy), and local celebrities like Nuggets, TV people and the like drinking heavily, bowling poorly and genuinely having a blast. There was a very atypical vibe of warmth and the desire to help others in evidence. We tend to get very wrapped up in our stupid little lives sometimes and we forget that we love music, and we love the people who make and surround it.”

(However, Flobots whooped The Fray.)

The Fray, Flobots, Flogging Molly, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Rapids, Colorado Mammoth took to the lanes for an evening of bowling, fun and smack-takling on Friday, September 4 at Lucky Strike Lanes in Belmar.

Watch members of the Flobots prepare for battle!
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Flobots.org is thrilled to announce that its inaugural Bring it On Bowling Ball was a smashing success — concluding with a decisive victory of Flobots over the Fray on the bowling lanes.

The first-place trophy went to Strikes for Somaly Maam. Second place honors went to the Colorado Rapids, followed by the Denver Nuggets in third place.

Many thanks to everyone who came out to watch, bowl, help and give. Special thanks to our sponsors — the majority of which are locally owned, independent Colorado-based businesses.

Sponsors included:
Twist & Shout Records, Hosting.com, Blue and Yellow Logic, Independent Records, ForeThought.net, Spin Creative Studio, IndyInk, The Fabric Lab, Ska Brewing Company and Dog-Topia are among the businesses that have made this event an overwhelming success. Other sponsors include Skyy Vodka, Best Buy and Lucky Strike.

Proceeds will benefit Flobots.org, a non-profit organization that works to create positive change by harnessing the power of music and those who love it.

ABOUT FLOBOTS.ORG
For the Denver-based Flobots, activism and art have always been intertwined. In 2008, Flobots took its activism to a national stage by forming a non-profit organization.

Major programs:

• Live from DCH! Music Therapy Program at Denver Children’s Home, currently expanding to serve young people across Denver
• Fight With Tools Street Team Program, building communities of socially engaged music fans
• Flobots.org Community Space, home to programs and performances for youth and community

For more information, please visit http://www.flobots.org, or call Laura Bond at 303-945-2191.